Lisa's Top Secret Pasta Sauce

Yesterday I talked about my new found love, the Veggetti and today I am going to share my favorite pasta sauce recipe with you so you can test this for yourself. This fresh sauce is super simple and so delicious. I've been making it for well over a year and will never go back to using jarred pasta sauce again.

Lisa's Top Secret Pasta Sauce

1 lb. of bulk Italian sausage
2 cans (28 oz. each) of Italian San Marzano whole tomatoes (do not use a cheap domestic brand, the tomatoes are key)
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (again, do not go cheap on the oil)
1 shallot, minced
1 small red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh oregano (I grow it year 'round on my windowsill)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar (it cuts that tin-y tomato taste)

Optional: 5 or 6 finely chopped fresh mushrooms and a small can of sliced black olives.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven and cook the sausage until it's no longer pink. Remove the sausage and set it aside and then saute the shallot and onion in that pan until well carmelized, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add the tomotoes (do not drain) and use a potato masher to crush them. Add 1/2 cup of warm water. Stir in the oregano, basil and sea salt. Add the sausage back into the pot. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. This is even more delicious if you can make it in the morning or the night before and then let it sit in the refrigerator all day. Reheat to serve at dinnertime. Serve this over pasta or zoodles with crusty Italian bread and olive oil for dipping.